Piano-action



H. P. BALLOU.

PIANO Acnoul APP LICATION FILED SEPT. 7. l9l6.

Patented May 13, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

IN VEN TOR HOZdPZZB Ba! [01L A TTORNEY H. P. BALLOU.

PIANO ACTION.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 7. l 9l6. 1 ,303 ,451 5 Patented May 13, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

INVENTOR f;

4 [fa/(2 812 f? Bell/ m Br 9M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOLDEN P. BALLOU, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T CHARLES A. DALL, OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

PIANO-ACTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 13, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOLDEN P. BALLOU, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano-Actions, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates in general to a pneumatic action for player pianos and specifically relates to the tension box and valvular mechanism for controlling the player pneumatics. Such devices have heretofore been made almost exclusively of wooden parts dried, filled and otherwise treated to make them air proof and then assembled, usually by gluing. Such actions are generally satis factory when first placed in the piano, but after several years service develop leaking conditions usually at the joints, necessitating at least a re-varnishing of the part, if not an entire disorganization of the device and the repairing or replacing of the leaking part. Again the build up actions are expensive due to the large amount of mechanical skill necessary to their manufacture and must have suflicient bulk to give the necessary strength. This bulky and cumbersome construction of the action necessitates the use of a larger casing than is necessary with the ordinary hand played piano and otherwise detracts from a neat appearance of the instrument.

One of the objectsof my invention is to provide a simple, compact and inexpensive form of player piano action which will not be subjected to leakage even after prolonged use. and which may be constructed of relatively few parts and with the minimum possible amount of material and mechanical labor. I attain this object broadly by designing an all metal action formed of parts which may be readily rolled, punched. stamped and otherwise machined to avoid manual labor. It has been suggested to make actions of metal modeled after the wooden actions now in general use, but the problems presented in order to provide a commercially possible device have not been solved heretofore, among other reasons because the necessity of assembling the large number of valvular mechanisms has introduced difficulties into the problem prohibiting the mere substitution of materials.

Another object of the invention is to provide an all metal tension box in the form of a relatively weak bridge construction and to design and utilize some of the necessary me-' chamcal parts of the action as reinforcements for this bridge and incidental to this object is the designing of an organization of a plurality of such tension boxes to provide a skeleton form of open bridge work. Still anotherobject is to provide a simple form of valvular mechanism which will permit ready access to its parts and the containing casing of which may be utilized as part of the reinforcement for the bridge tension box. A still further object of the invention is to provide an action which will permit ready access from the front of the piano to any parts which may get out of order so that the actu ating mechanism for any one note may be repaired or replaced without affecting the other note actuating mechanisms in the organization.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a simple form of pneumatic controlling valvular mechanism designed to vide a rugged construction from a minimum 1 amount of material and designed so that the parts thereof may be cheaply machined in large numbers and readily assembled to form merchantable units.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be in part obvious from an inspection of the accompanying drawings and in part will be more fully set forth in the following particular description of one form of mechanism embodying my invention, and the invention also consists in certain new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of the upper portion of a player piano showing a preferred embodiment of my invention with the central portion of the action broken away to save space and one of the pneumatics and its correlated valvular control shown in vertical section to show internal construction.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1 with two of the actions and the tracker bar shown in transverse section and the other action shown in side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view through a physical embodiment of the invention differing slightly from the form shown in Fig. 2.

The embodiment of the invention illusprotrated discloses a frame or casing having side standards 11 formmg a part of the frame and designed to transmit any strain thereon directly to the floor. There is also shown a portion of the tracker bar 12 from the vents 13 of which extend the tracker bar tubes 14.

Flexible tubes 15 extend rearwardly out of the spool box 16, and constitute continuations of the tubes 14 and coact therewith to place the valve control elements in communication 1 with the tracker bar. Hammer actions indicated diagrammatically at 17 are also shown in position to be actuated by the pneumatics 18 to sound the piano strings (not shown), as is usual with devices of this character.

A unitary organization of player piano action 19 is bridged across the front of the piano in advance of the hammer action and in rear of the front board and has opposite ends thereof removably fixed to the standard by any suitable and readily accessible means such as the screws 20. The unit is shown to include three tiers of actions connected at opposite ends by hanger plates 21, which are swung from the end standards and fastened by the screws 20. This arrangement constitutes an open construction which forms a well braced unit when fitted to hold in the standards. It has been found that with three tiers of actions the eighty-eight valvular mechanisms necessary to some types of piano are spaced apart a distance to give ready access to each mechanism but the number of tiers is no material part of this invention.

As the tiers of actions are similar, a detailed description of any one will be sufficient for any one of the others. The action includes a tension box and pneumatic support 22 extending the full .width of the piano. In the form shown in Fig. 3 the box is formed of two rolled channel members 2324 with the troughs of the channels facing each other and coacting to form a wind compartment and passageway 25. The flanges 26 of the members contact along their length and are suitably fastened together. As shown, the flanges of one of the members are of greater width than their correlated flanges on the other member and are lapped over the other flanges to form airtight lap joints along each edge and this airtight feature may be insured by the interposition of a layer of packing material 27 disposed between the flanges. The end of the passageway is closed by. end plates 28 and the passageway is connected by means of a plug with some suitable source of pneumatic power indicated diagrammatically by the hose connection 30.

A plurality of the hammer pneumatics 18 are hung from the underside of the bottom channel member 24 in position so as to be accessible for ready demounting from the front of the piano. The pneumatics are similar in construction so as to be interchangeable and include small rectangular bellows, the top fixed board 31 of which has two small blocks 32-33 fixed'to the top thereof. These blocks are spaced apart lengthwise of the pneumatic and transversely of the action so as to position the channel portion of the lower member 24 therebetween and extend under the flanges 26. The rear block 33 is provided with a drilled opening 34 designed to receive a tube 35 integral with and constituting an extension from the tracker bar tubes 14. The bottom floating board 36 of the pneumatic is maintained in operative relation to the fixed board by means of an accordion fold 37 as is usual with devices of this character. Each pneumatic is provided with a finger 38 which projects rearwardly from the floating board and underlaps the hammer actions 17 as is usual with such devices.

Each of the pneumatics is provided with a pneumatic controlling valvular element 40. This element as shown in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 includes a valve'casing in the form of an open cylindrical sleeve 41 designed to be inserted Vertically in an opening 42 stamped in the upper side of-the trough and centered over its correlated pneumatic. It will be understood that in constructing the channel members the sheet metal is rolled and its channel formed and the openings 42 punched therein along the length of the trough before the members are assembled. The sleeve extends partly within and partly projects above the tension box, and has a tight fit therein. The lower end of the sleeve is'closed by means of a cap 43 having a telescoping fit therein and constituting a means for holding a diaphragm 4-4 in place and spaced from the bottom of the valve casing to form a pressure chamber 45 in communication with the tracker bar through the tube 35. The diaphragm also forms a vacuum chamber in communication with the wind compartment through the wind ports 47 in the lower side of the sleeve.

A ring 48 fitted into the sleeve with a frictional tight engagement is provided with a centrally disposed valve opening constituting a port 49 for exhausting from the vacu um chamber 46 to the pneumatic. This port is controlled by a valve 50 fixed to a valve rod 51, the lower end of which is adjustably screwed into a diaphragm button 52 fixed centrally to the diaphragm. This screw connection provides a means for ad- Justing the position of the valve relative to the diaphragm.

The upper portion of the valve casing con- The cap telescopes the upper end of the sleeve and has a screw threaded engagement therewith to permit ready access to the contents of the casing. The vents 54: are controlled by a valve 56 fixed to the rod 51 as is usual with valves of this character. The upper end of the rod 51 is passed through a centrally disposed opening 57 in the cap so as to guide the valves in their movements to and from their seats.

A curved by-pass pipe 58 connects the correlated pneumatic with the air chamber 53 and passes through the front block and fixed board of the pneumatic. The pipe is preferably braized to the sleeve.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the lower member 2a is provided with a series of flat cylindrical caps 60 which may be formed either by punching the trough along its length or may be formed of separate flanged caps soldered in place over apertures punched in the trough of the lower channel member. In either case there is formed an annular stepped shoulder 61 constituting a seat for a diaphragm 62 held in place by a ring 63 supported on the shoulder.

A11 open ended valve containing casing in the form of a cylindrical sleeve 64 supported on top of the tension box and positioned centrally over the opening 49 and fastened in place as by means of outturned flanges 65 soldered to the top of the upper member 23. In other respects this modification resembles that described for the embodiment of the invention described in connection with the device illustrated in Fig. 3.

The pneumatics 18 are preferably hung from their coacting action and in order to permit the ready demounting of any one particular pneumatic they are shown to inelude a spring hanger 66 fastened to the rearwardly extending portion of the pneumatic and arranged to overlap the adjacent flanges 2 6. A screw 67 readily accessible from the front of the piano is passed through the front flanges 26 of the wind box and engages in the front block 32" of the pneuiatics.

In operation, it will be understood that the action works substantially in. the same manner as do similar devices now in general use. The opening of the tracker bar vent causes a pressure condition in the chamber which acts on the valves to cause a pressure change in the chamber 58 to effect the actuation of the player pneumatics and thus sound the particular string controlled by the uncovered vent in the tracker bar.

By means of a device of this character it is possible to retain all of the advantages of the present form of action and in addition to attain these advantages with a saving of both material and labor. The channel members can readily be run through suitable rollers and the stamping is merely a question of the proper dies. As the sheet metal used is of narrow gage the same size wind spaces may be retained and the total space occupied materially reduced in all dimensions. Particularly is it noted that even though the device is constructed of thin metal, still the parts are so assembled as to give the necessary beam depth to prevent distortional strains and even the three beam depths are assembled in the complete unit so as to mutually brace and reinforce each other.

As the valve casings on the upper portion of the tension boxes are fixed thereto in such a way that compression strains on the upper portion of the box are resisted by the extra bulk of material supplied by these casings, it is obvious that this portion at least of the tension box may be made of a stock merely sufficient to maintain its weight without bending. Should any note refuse to respond the difficulty obviously must be either in the pneumatic or its controlling valvular mechanism. Opening the piano front and removing the holding screw at the front of the pneumatics permits of its ready removal for inspection.

Unscrewing the cap at the top of the valve casing and then unscrewing the valve stem from the diaphragm button permits the bodily lifting of the valve parts from the casing. If the trouble is with the diaphragm, in the form of invention shown in Fig. 1 the holding ring and diaphragm may then be removed and another diaphragm substituted. In the form shown in Fig. 3 the entire casing including the diaphragm may be bodily removed and another casing inserted in place. It will be usual to supply a few extra pneumatics and valvular mechanisms with each piano so as to facilitate a quick repair.

Even the tension boxes. may be replaced in the organization, but these parts are not subjected to severe wearing actions and will last usually as long as the piano. As the parts are of metal'and all joints securely closed, there is little if any possibility of leakage and it is possible to stamp the parts so that even the joints will be practically air-tight.

This device possesses another advantage over the usual wooden actions in that it retains its air-tight construction under all climatic conditions, it does not swell in damp weather, thus eliminating destructive action on the delicate valvular mechanism and by virtue of its flexibility retains its playing functions even when moved about.-

Having described my invention I claim:

1. In a player piano, a small metal pneumatic action including a pair of channel sheet' metal members having their trough portions facing each other to form a Wind box and having outstanding flanges projecting laterally of the wind box so as to reinforce the same in the plane of the laterally extending flanges and means for fastening .the flanges together to form an air-tight connection therebetween, and a unitary valvular mechanism supported on the lower of said channel members and extending through and fitted within the upper member and acting to reinforce the wind box in a plane at right angles to the plane reinforced by the laterally extending flanges.

2. In a player piano, a tension box comprising a sheet metal channel shaped member, a coacting metal member-for covering the trough of the first named member to form a wind-passageway, both of said metal members having outstanding flanges with the flanges of one of said members overlapping the flanges of the other member to form air tight joints between the members, means for closing the ends of the channel member so as to form a unitary all metal tension box, wooden/blocks disposed beneath the flanges on opposite sides of the wind passageway and a pneumatic engaging the bottom of the blocks and the bottom of the wind passageway.

3. In a player piano, a metal tension box formed of a pair of superimposed members including a lower channel member provided with a. horizontally disposed outstanding flange, a wooden block affixed to the underside of said flange to provide a bottom surface approximately flush with the lowermost portion of said lower channel member, and an actuating pneumatic affixed to said block and underlapping said trough portion.

l. In a player piano, a metal tension box including a sheet metal channel member provided with a horizontally disposed outstanding flange, a block aflixed to said flange and adapted to provide a pneumatic engaging surface below the trough portion of said channel member, a striking pneumatic engaging said block and underlapping said trough portion, and means for removably fastening said pneumatic in position, hung from said tension box.

5. In a device of the class described, a two piece sheet metal tension "box including a top and bottom member and provided with an opening on the top member thereof, a single valvular member containing all of the necessary valvular mechanism to actuate a striking pneumatic fitted in said opening 125nd resting on the bottom member of said 6. In a device of the class described, a two piece metal tension box formed of two channel shaped members with their trough portions facing each other to form a windpassageway and provided with means for connecting the passageway to a source of pneumatic power, said box having outstanding flanges coacting with a packing disposed between said flanges and means engaging the flanges to fasten the members together, a single valvular mechanism centered in the upper of said channel members and open to said passageway.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of three units, each constituting 'an article of manufacture complete in itself, one of said units comprising an all metal tension box, a second imit comprising a casing containing all of the necessary valvular parts for operating a pneumatic from the pneumatic pressure in said tension box and positioned in said tension box and the third unit comprising a pneumatic supported from the tension box and adapted to be controlled by said valvular mechanism.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a long metallic tension box adapted to besupported fl-atwise in a horizontal plane, and provided with an outstanding metal flange, a series of pneumatics each complete in itself and including a stationary rear block extending transversely of said box, positioned beneath the same and substantially centered relative to a vertical medial plane through said tension box, and readily removable means accessible from one side of the box for securing said pneumatics in position hung from the outstanding flrnge of said tension box and a filler block between said pneumatic and flange.

9. In a player piano, a metal action in the form of a bridge provided with means for hanging the same from opposite ends, said action formed of an upper compression part and a lower tension part, said parts being channeled to increase the beam depth of the action and to provide a wind passageway therein having approximately the same width as depth, and valve containing casings extending through the upper part and positioned centrally of its transverse width of the action whereby the casing may be utilized to strengthen the action.

10. In a player piano, an action including a pair of superimposed sheet metal members having laterally projecting flanges overlapping each other and fastened together to form a tension box, said box having portions at the center thereof oflset from each other vertically to form an air passageway along the center line of the action, valvular mechanism open to said passageway and blocks attached to said flanges to reinforce the same.

11. In a piano action, the combination of a tension box, a pneumatic afflxed to the underside of the tension box and accessible from the front thereof, a pneumatic controlling valve element including a casing therefor inserted Within the top of the tension box and supported from the bottom thereof and means connecting the casing with the pneumatic, said casing means being of one piece to permit the ready assembling of the same into operative connection with the tension box and pneumatic.

12. In a piano action, the combination of a tension box, a pneumatic aflixed to the underside of the tension box and accessible from the front thereof, a pneumatic controlling valve element including a casing therefor inserted within the top of the tension box and supported from the bottom thereof and means connecting the casing with the pneumatic, said casing means being one piece to permit the ready assembling of the same into operative connection with the tension box and pneumatic, said tension box provided With means for engaging said connecting means interme diate its ends to strengthen same.

13. A piano action including a tension box, a pneumatic afiixed to the underside of the tension box, a pneumatic controlling valve element including a casing therefor fitted into the top of the tension box and a tube connecting the casing with the pneumatic and passing through a part of the tension box, said tube being permanently copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the afiixed to the casing to form a one-piece element.

14. A piano action including a metallic tension box provided With an air chamber, means for connecting the same to a source of pneumatic power and also provided with a hole opening into the air chamber, a player pneumatic, a cylindrical valve containing shell positioned in said hole and in communication with the air chamber, said casing containing all of the necessary valvular mechanism for controlling said pneumatic and said valvular mechanism being accessible through the outer end of the shell.

15. In a player piano, the combination with a tension box having an opening in the top thereof, a diaphragm covered cap at the bottom of the tension box, of an article of manufacture constituting a complete valvular mechanism inserted bodily in said opening and including a valve actuated stem resting 011 said diaphragi Signed at New York, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 29th day of August, A. D. 1916.

HOLDEN P. BALLOU.

Commilsioner of rotentl,

Washington, D. 0." 

